Inclusive Education in Vietnam: A Snapshot
Katherine D. Seelman, Ph.D. (Kds31@pitt.edu)
Associate Dean for Governmental and International Relations
Professor Rehabilitation Science and Technology
School of Health and Rehabilitation Science
University of Pittsburgh
Introduction
The World Bank has provided support to assist the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training in the implementation of its recently adopted Inclusive Education (IE) policy. This is a "snapshot" of Inclusive Education in Vietnam based on an intensive three-week visit to Vietnam and meetings, various reports, public documents and other publications. Inclusive Education refers to placement and education of students with disabilities in general education classrooms with students of the same age who do not have disabilities.
Vietnam has made excellent progress in the development of its education system with primary level enrollment rates at approximately 94 percent. Nonetheless, perhaps 7 per cent of the primary school age population has never gone to school and many more children drop out in the primary grades. The quality of education and the number of children repeating grades are continuing problems. Children who never go to school or who are at risk of dropping out have been referred to as "educationally disadvantaged". Children with disabilities are among the groups that have been designated as educationally disadvantaged.
Background
Against a recent history of educational investments for disabled children in separate schools and separate classrooms within regular schools, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has recently set Inclusive Education (IE) as a policy objective.
According to the UNESCO-supported Vietnam Child Disability Survey 1998, there were approximately 1 million children with disabilities (aged 0-15) in Vietnam. Among these children living in households, perhaps 36.6 percent had never attended school, 47.6 attended school and 15.8 percent dropped out. The education level of these children was generally very low-- almost half of the school age (6-17) children with disabilities were illiterate. Children living in institutions appear to have lower illiteracy levels and more access to rehabilitation.
A number of organizations, including the Vietnam Ministry of Education's Center for Special Education, Hanoi Pedagogic University, and NGOs have been working to develop special education and inclusive education programs for children with disabilities. The organizations working on development of IE programs are not part of the official government bureaucracy. The IE programs are, apparently funded from private revenues. A small number of children participate in these education programs compared to those children in need of education.
Observations over 3 weeks
Vietnam adopted the Ordinance on Disabled Persons in 1998 which is protective and supportive of the rights of and opportunities for people with disabilities. More recently the government has begun to address the problem of accessibility in the built environment. The Vietnam Education Law of 1998, in the tradition of Education for All, is supportive of education for disabled children. However, Vietnam does not have a law that provides a framework for the education of children with disabilities. While a number of ministries are involved with issues related to disability, there is not yet a coordinating body across these ministries that would mobilize national parent, education, health, rehabilitation, construction and other supports for the Inclusive Education effort. Similarly, professional capacity in special education and related services is limited and whatever the existing capacity, it appears to be somewhat concentrated in special schools. Although there are many general pedagogical training schools and a number of medical schools, higher education in Vietnam is challenged to develop the capacity to educate people who can deliver special education and related diagnostics, therapies, speech and audiological services and assistive technology to support Inclusive Education as well as architects and software experts who can handle accessibility.
The Ministry of Education and Training has an independent research arm called the National Institute for Educational Services that has a special education unit. This unit is involved in the development, testing and use of materials and in-service for teachers and children with disabilities in an Inclusive Education framework. Emphasis is on a community-based model. The government is beginning to internalize Inclusive Education using its research arm to develop necessary materials, training and curricula. However, many international NGOs are very active in Inclusive Education in Vietnam. The Disability Community is networked and a Disability Forum meets in Hanoi. The Forum staff and a number of members are people with disabilities. NGOs such as Radda Barnen (Save the Children) are members of the Forum. Some of NGOs have been involved in the development of community-based models of education for children with disabilities for a decade or more. NGOs are doing pilots and demonstrations, providing technical assistance, testing curricula and training teachers as well working with parents and commune leaders.
Like so many school systems, schools in Vietnam are struggling with large classes and small budgets. Therefore, Inclusive Education is sometime viewed as an additional burden. Reminiscent of responses of school personnel in other countries, some head masters/mistresses seemed to embrace the idea while others clearly felt that they could not implement the policy without more support. Of the nine schools visited in and around Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, two were special schools and seven were inclusive. Inclusion in Vietnam seems to involve integration of a single disability group into a school. These groups are blindness/low vision, deafness/hard of hearing and mental retardation. Although mobility is the largest disability group for children in Vietnam, children who use wheelchairs were not present in classes that I visited. Barriers may include availability of educational supports, assistive technology and accessible built environment, professional support and attitudes. Special schools had more materials and equipment, but one of the model schools for the deaf and hard of hearing did not have equipment to test hearing. At one special school, groups of parents and children were meeting together with school personnel to learn about early intervention. There are perhaps two audiologists in Vietnam and perhaps an equal number of sign language interpreters; apparently, the first book of Vietnamese signs was piloted this year.
Like most countries, attitudes about disability in Vietnam range from enlightened to backward. While Vietnam has a deep cultural commitment to education, there appears to be a lingering predisposition in some people to explain disability as the result of a wrong act by an ancestor. Therefore, children may be kept from school because of feelings of shame among family members.
Recommendations
While recognizing the U.S. proclivity to pass laws to right most wrongs, Vietnam needs a policy framework in which to guide Inclusive Education. Consensus building around the development of support for such a framework might come from a representative National Task Force that has strong disability and parental membership as well as members from ministries, communes, NGOs, and the research, professional and service provider groups. The Task Force might become a permanent coordinating structure. The Task Force should move toward a legal framework that creates educational inclusion, further internalizing the Vietnamese commitment to Inclusive Education. The Task Force will probably have to guide a transition process that will include conversion of some or all of the special schools into resource centers and inventory the kind of professional capacity within the special schools. This will require considerable involvement at the education district level.
Every effort should be made to create and institutionalize a process of finding children so that they receive appropriate early intervention services and are within a process that results in school enrollment and retention.
Some of the NGOs and the communes have embarked on community-based inclusive education demonstrations that include parental education, community education, and mobilization of community leaders. Some projects have implemented teams of community development, education, health and other workers. Local people may be recruited and trained to transport children, help in the classroom and other activities vital to IE. Universal curricula may be tested and general education local pedagogical schools should be involved in curricula development, training general education as well as special education students . Some of these project initiated by NGOs have been and will be evaluated. This information can help guide future efforts. Efforts should be made to recruit disabled people in all these activities. Research shows that having disabled people as role models is important to the development of the children.
IE means to eliminate needless social and educational segregation. The origins of IE are in resource-rich countries that may more easily supplement regular classrooms with special assistance and supports. Developing countries are doing this on their own terms often using community-based strategies. Capacity building at the local level and in higher education will be driven by commitment and resources, including money. Vietnam higher education will need to consider to what extent it wants to support and/or import professional development in special education/supports and related services such as diagnostics, speech, audiology, assistive technology and various therapies. Independent or coupled with pre-service professional development, teachers now in the classroom have requested in-service and materials to meet the challenge of increased diversity. Likewise, accessible buildings and equipment require some planning and resources.
Vietnam has an impressive track record in education. The country deserves continuing support as it meets the challenge of structural transition and education of groups, like disabled children, who are educationally disadvantaged.
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